A HEALTHCARE firm has rated the Royal United Hospital, Bath as one of the top performing hospitals in the country.

In a study by CHKS, the RUH made the firm's top 40 list for the first time.

The study rates hospitals in three main areas: clinical effectiveness, efficiency and patient and carer experiences.

Each hospital is judged on reports collected over a 12-month period.

RUH trust representatives Rhiannon Richards, head of business intelligence, and Steve Boxall, head of service redesign and improvements, picked up the award at a ceremony held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham last Tuesday.

The award comes only months after a Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall documentary put the hospital's MRSA infection rates under the spotlight.